Today

The massive, reptillian creature leapt at Peter and he prepared himself for the strike. He crouched, then extended his legs, shooting his body into the air seconds before the creature struck him. He brought his feet down hard on the thing’s head and bounced off, flipping in the air before landing perfectly in a crouched position, with one hand on the ground.

The creature turned towards him, keeping the young man locked in his field of vision. The tongue flicked out as he spoke and Peter could see the rows of jagged teeth inside his mouth.

“You can’t stop this,” he said.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be stopping,” said Peter. “I just want to know who you are and what you’ve done to Connors. And if you’ve hurt him…”

“Spare me your threats, child. You’re fast and you’re strong, but you’re nothing compared to the Lizard.”

“The Lizard?” asked Peter. “At least I’m smart enough not to call myself something as ridiculous as that.”

WITH GREAT POWER

Part II: Connections

By Dino Pollard

Two Weeks Ago

“Mothers, hide your daughters, ’cause Flash is back!”

Peter was distracted from setting up his laptop, and his head turned to the door. Standing right inside the door, his hand on the knob, stood a young man about Peter’s age. He had short, dirty blond hair that was spiked with brown eyes and an earring in his left ear. Handsome and well-built, he was easily a few feet taller than Peter and, judging by the defined shape of his torso beneath the tight t-shirt he wore, quite a bit stronger as well.

The young man looked at the nametags on the door. One said “Peter” and the other said “Eugene.” He shook his head and walked over to the empty desk across from Peter where he grabbed a magic marker off it. Walking back to the door, he crossed “Eugene” off the tag and wrote “Flash” over it, combined with a crude drawing of a lightning bolt. He came back into the room and tossed the marker on the desk, then turned his attention to Peter.

“You must be Pete,” he said.

“Yeah, and you’re Eugene?” asked Peter.

“Dude, no,” he said. “Call me Flash, everyone does.”

“How did you get that from Eugene?”

Flash smiled. “Because I move like lightning on the field. You into football?”

“Nah, not really,” said Peter. Flash’s grin shifted to a slight frown.

“Oh… why not?”

“Just not my thing,” said Peter. “I was never a fan of sports. I mean, I went to a few baseball games with my uncle, but that’s about it.”

“Baseball?” asked Flash with a cocked eyebrow. “Pfft, that’s weak. Nah, football’s where it’s at, buddy.” Flash looked at the framed photographs that rested on the ledge beside Peter’s bed. “Whoa!” He sat on the bed and picked up a photograph of Peter with Mary Jane at prom. “Dude, she is fuckin’ hot! How’d a guy like you get your hands on a babe like that?”

“No, it’s not—”

“I mean, no offense or nothing, you seem like a nice guy, but damn!”

“No, we’re not… together. We’re just friends.”

Flash looked up at Peter. The appearence on the football player’s face indicated that he didn’t believe a word of what his new roommate just told him. “Uh huh. Right.”

“No, really,” said Peter. “We just grew up together, we’ve been friends since we were little kids.”

“Yeah but c’mon, you’re hittin’ that, right?” asked Flash.

“No, I’m not,” said Peter.

“Why not?” asked Flash.

“Because she’s my best friend, it’s not…”

“Are you gay?”

“…what?!”

“I mean, it’s cool if you are, I got no problem with it.”

“I’m not gay.”

“Not like you can help it or anything, it’s just the way you were born or something.”

“I’m not gay!”

“I’ve got a gay cousin, he’s a pretty cool guy. Actually, he’s single, so if you li—”

“I’M NOT GAY!”

Flash looked a little bit shocked at the way Peter had suddenly raised his voice. He clicked his tongue and set the photograph back on the ledge, then slid off the bed and moved over to his desk.

“Ooookay, someone’s a bit sensitive,” he said. “Relax dude, I was just askin’ a question.”

Peter sighed and rubbed his eyebrows. He turned his attention back to his computer and worked on setting up the Internet connection. All he could hear for a few moments was the sound of his fingers striking the keyboard. It didn’t take long for him to finish the connection process.

“It’s too quiet.”

The voice was Flash’s and Peter hoped that his new roommate didn’t want to start up another conversation. Instead, it turned out to be much worse. Rather than start up another conversation, Flash turned his stereo on and cranked the volume. The bass caused the walls to vibrate.

“Three, six, nine. Damn you’re fine. Move it so you can sock it to me one more time. Get low, get low get low get low…”

Peter couldn’t even make it through the entire song. Hearing Lil’ Jon telling him to get low over and over again was enough to drive a man insane. Rather than try risking another conversation with Flash, Peter decided to just leave. He closed his laptop and slid it inside his messenger bag before walking out the door.

He walked down the hall to Gwen’s room. The door was closed and he lifted his hand to knock, but he hesitated. She told him to come by if he needed anything, did that mean he could come by just to hang out and talk to her? Or was she referring specifically to RA duties? Before he could make a decision, the door opened and Gwen jumped slightly when she saw him.

“Oh Pete, you scared me!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said.

“What’s up?”

“I was just… coming by to say hi. I’ve got some time to kill before I have to meet this Dr. Connors, so I thought I’d stop over for a little.”

A look of slight disappointment crossed her features. “I’m sorry, I’d love to sit and talk to you, but I was just about to go to the student union. I have to meet up with some people in a little bit.”

“That’s okay,” said Peter. He felt like an idiot. Of course she would have better things to do than sit and talk with the dorky freshman on her floor.

“Hey, if you’re bored, why don’t you walk over there with me?” she asked. “They’ve got a lot of things to pass the time over there and I think there’s some freshman social event or something going on.”

Peter didn’t feel like going to a social event. It didn’t sound exciting in the least and he wasn’t in the mood to play the part of a social butterfly. He was never a big fan of crowds. But the chance to talk to Gwen and get to know her a little better, see if he could form some sort of bond—that was far more interesting to him. And he told himself that once he got to the union, he could just use the school’s wifi connection on his laptop.

“Sure, let’s go,” he said.

Gwen smiled and locked her door and the two walked over to the elevators. Gwen pressed the call button and two other freshmen girls came to the elevator as well. Peter rolled his eyes and hoped Gwen wouldn’t include them as well. But aside from a smile and a little wave to Gwen, the two were lost in their own conversation.

“Did you meet your roommate yet?” asked Gwen.

“Yeah, Flash,” muttered Peter.

Gwen giggled. “Doesn’t sound like you two hit it off.”

“No, no we didn’t,” said Peter. “That’s why I decided to get out of my room for awhile.”

“Fight?”

“No, he started playing his music way too loud.”

“Well, just between you and me.” She leaned towards Peter’s ear and in a voice low enough so the other girls couldn’t hear, said, “I actually thought he was a little too arrogant when I met him.”

Peter smiled. “I know just what you mean.”

“Roommates are probably the worst thing about living in the dorms,” said Gwen.

“I always heard it was the food.”

“The food’s a close second, but there are ways around that. You can’t get away from your roommate, though. Just have to pray that your schedule’s are completely different so you’ll never be in the room at the same time.”

The elevator ride dragged and seemed to stop at every floor. The downside of only having two elevators in such a large building. No one wanted to take the stairs, so the wait was a necessary evil. Neither he nor Gwen spoke much during the ride. Once the doors opened, the crowd that had congregated inside the elevator dispersed, although it seemed to Peter that they were all heading in the same general direction.

“What do you want to do when you graduate?” asked Peter.

“I think I may go for my masters, try to get a job as a professor,” said Gwen. “That’s pretty much the only thing you can do with an English degree. You said you wanted to go into genetics?”

“Yeah, my father was a geneticist, so I guess I want to follow in his footsteps,” said Peter.”

“Was?”

“Yeah… my parents died when I was a little kid.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay, my aunt and uncle raised me after they died, and they were probably the best parents I could’ve asked for,” said Peter. “My aunt worries a lot, but my uncle tends to keep her in check.”

“Any brothers or sisters?” asked Gwen. Peter shook his head.

“What about you?”

“Only child,” she said. “My parents got divorced several years ago and my mom moved to Boston, so I lived with my dad until I came here.”

“What do you usually do for fun?” asked Peter.

“I’m taking all 300-level English courses and I’m an RA, so it makes having a social life really difficult,” said Gwen. “I’m pretty much always in my room, reading for class. Other than that, just the usual stuff. Movies, hanging out, sometimes I’ll go to a bar or club with some friends. What about you?”

“I’m pretty much always messing around with science stuff,” said Peter. “Reading journals, that sort of thing. I don’t really get out much.”

“Well, that’ll probably change for you. They say college is the time when you find yourself.”

“Maybe,” he said. There was only one question he wanted to know the answer to, whether or not she had a boyfriend. If not, he wanted to ask her to come to the movies with him this weekend. But he was too afraid to ask either one. Too afraid to do anything other than make small talk with her. When they got to the student union, they opened the glass doors and stepped inside. Gwen smiled at him.

“Well, here we are,” she said. “It was nice talking to you, but I’ve really gotta run.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” said Peter. “I’m gonna go grab some food then check out this event thing you mentioned.”

“Okay, have fun. I’ll see you soon, Pete.”

She flashed him another smile before walking off into the distance. Peter watched her go up the stairs to the second level of the union and he couldn’t help smiling himself. His thoughts were focused on her as he walked over to the small café. He ordered a cup of coffee and sat at a table and pulled his laptop out. Before he could start it up, a shadow fell over him and he craned his neck. Standing behind him was a guy about his age with short, dark-red hair. He wore a black t-shirt and khaki pants and held a flyer in his hand.

“Hey, how you doing?” he asked.

“Can’t complain,” said Peter. Although he was curious why this strange guy had approached him out of the blue. The stranger sat in the chair across from him and extended his hand.

“I’m Harry,” he said.

Peter slowly reached his own hand out and shook Harry’s. “Peter.”

“Nice to meet you, Pete, you a freshman?” asked Harry.

“Yeah, why? You’re not gonna throw pennies at me or something, are you?”

Harry laughed. “Nah, we don’t do that in college. I just wanted to come by and talk to you a little bit about making your college experience a lot better.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s a time to make a lot of new friends and meet new people and just to have a good time.”

“I thought it was about getting a degree and finding a good job.”

Harry chuckled again. “I like you, you’re a pretty funny guy. Yeah, but beyond that, college is a time for new experiences. And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“…what new experiences?”

“Ever considered pledging?”

“Pledging?”

“Yeah, a frat.”

“Oh,” said Peter. “No, not really.”

“Well, I’m part of Alpha Sigma Lambda and we’re getting ready for rush week and looking for prospects,” said Harry. “Think you might be interested in rushing?”

“I’m really not one for frats,” said Peter. “Not my thing.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Well, maybe you should come to one of our parties, we have one this weekend,” said Harry. He handed Peter the flyer and the freshman started to read over the sheet. It was an advertisement for the party Harry mentioned, with the address of the fraternity house. “Come see what it’s all about, frats really aren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be. It’s not all about drinking and sex, we do a lot of work for the community and we help each other out in our classes. Plus, you’ll make great friends who will last a lifetime. Like family.”

“I really don’t think so,” said Peter.

“Don’t say no right away, just think about it,” said Harry. “Come by, see what we’re all about. If it’s not your thing, then that’s cool, no harm done.”

“Maybe,” said Peter.

“That’s better,” said Harry. He glanced down at his watch. “Oh crap, I’m late! It was nice meeting you, Pete. Hopefully I’ll see you this weekend.”

Peter turned his attention back to his computer once Harry left. He looked at his watch and saw that it was three-thirty. He had to meet Dr. Connors at four, so he had half an hour to kill.

Dr. Curtis Connors read over the notes on his desk with a cigarette dangling from his lips. It was a non-smoking building, but Connors wasn’t always one for following the rules. He heard a knock on the door and took the cigarette from his lips and dropped it in the plastic cup he was using as an ashtray. There was a bit of water at the bottom of it and he put the cup on the floor behind his desk. He grabbed the small can of air freshener and sprayed it quickly across the room.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Connors looked up to see a young, very thin man with shaggy brown hair and round glasses. He wore a button-down shirt with the buttons all undone and the sleeves rolled up. Underneath was a white t-shirt and he wore a pair of jeans beneath that. A messenger bag was slung over one shoulder.

“Dr. Connors?” he asked. “I’m Peter Parker, I’m—”

“Yes, come in, Mr. Parker,” said Connors. He motioned at the chair in front of his desk and Peter took a seat in it, setting down his bag on the ground. “I hope you’re looking forward to this semester as much as I am. A full scholarship, you’re doing pretty good for yourself. Seems like you definitely inherited your father’s brain.”

“You knew my father?” asked Peter.

“Not personally, but I admired his work. He was a brilliant man. I was sad to hear that he died. What we’re doing is very much in line with his own work.”

“I know, I’ve read some of your papers on genetics, it’s really fascinating,” said Peter.

“You’ve read my work?” asked Connors. Peter nodded and Connors smiled in response. “Well, consider me impressed, Peter. Not many high school students would take the time for that.”

“Genetics has always been a passion of mine,” said Peter. “I want to pick up where my father left off.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place,” said Connors. He swiveled in his chair and faced the filing cabinet behind him. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a large folder and set it down in front of Peter.

“What’s this?” asked Peter.

“Background information on my latest research, a way to see about regenerating lost or damaged cells in the human body,” said Connors. “We could be looking at not only a cure for cancer, but so much more. We could regenerate lost limbs and repair negative mutations, such as hemophelia, sickle-cell, or even mental retardation. Even remove the chances of inheriting a disease from family members.”

“Are you talking about stem-cell research?” asked Peter.

“No, something else,” said Connors. “Stem-cell is the basis, but my research goes far beyond that.”

“This sounds incredible,” said Peter.

“I’ve got some experiments I want to get started on as soon as possible and I want you to assist me,” said Connors. He looked at the small day calendar on his desk. “Let’s see, today is Thursday. Do you have any plans on Saturday?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“You do now,” said Connors. He took one of his business cards from the holder on the desk and flipped it over. He wrote a room number on the back and handed it to Peter. “I want you to read as much of that material as possible and meet me Saturday afternoon at five o’clock in this room.”

“Why so late?” asked Peter, his eyes reading the number and commiting it to memory.

“I promised my son I’d take hm to the zoo, he wants to see the lizards,” said Connors. “Is that too late for you?”

“No, it’s fine, just wondering,” said Peter.

“In that case, I’ll see you Saturday afternoon,” said Connors. He extended his hand. “Looking forward to working with you.”

“You have no idea what an honor this is for me,” said Peter, taking Connors’ hand in his own. He picked up the folder and slid it into his messenger bag. He walked over to the door and opened it.

“Peter?”

He turned and looked back at Connors. “Yeah?”

Connors smiled at him. “You and I, we’re going to change the world.”